Cognios Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) by 33.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,432 shares during the quarter. Cognios Capital LLC’s holdings in Republic Services were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 531.6% during the second quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 57.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Cerebellum GP LLC bought a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter worth $186,000. Finally, Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Republic Services in the second quarter worth $178,000. 60.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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In related news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.35 per share, with a total value of $108,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Donald W. Slager sold 225,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.02, for a total transaction of $16,483,096.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 378,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,603,239.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RSG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 16th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.71.

RSG stock opened at $71.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Republic Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.26 and a twelve month high of $75.82. The firm has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 12.11%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 31st. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.73%.

Republic Services Profile

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, recycling, disposal, and energy services for small-container, large-container, municipal and residential, and energy services customers in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company's collection services include curbside collection of waste for transport to transfer stations; supply of waste containers; and renting of compactors.